Domenique Mora: Where Design Meets Vision

Tokyo designer Gwenael Nicolas, spa composition in Interlaken, Switzerland gives way to  unexplored senses.  The dark corridor leads the way until space vanishes. The suspended silks in the Kanebo Spa enfolds guests in dimensions of serene light distancing the bustling outside world, layer by layer.   The spaces design is based  on lining of floating layers of Koishimaru silk that hangs from the ceiling.  The soft glow of lights fade-outs the outside world, one layer at a time until the mind becomes liberated to transform mind and body.   Moving past the silk layers, a circular waiting room welcomes guests. The waiting room in the center of space is designed similar to a cocoon and metamorphoses into a silky spun oasis of tranquility.  Treatment rooms enveloped in warm wooden walls and timber shelves linked to the ceiling by metal poles add to the atmosphere.  Everyday life gives way to a different dimension that leads to an u...

The Lavender Bay Boat shed consists of two 3 story boat sheds that abut one another at the north-western edge of the bay. Built in the 19th century, they are the last remaining timber structures from the era in this part of Sydney Harbour. restored since 2008, they have been converted into a mix of commercial and residential units in the northern building and a 3 story residential apartment in the southern building. The main apartment extends from the lower ground floor (where the harbour extends into the main bedroom under a glazed floor) to a height of three story's. It is entered mid-level on the landward side via a steep and winding path. From here the large timber lined living room (evoking memories of being a small child under an upturned boat) opens out towards the city skyline. The existing timber structure, pulled and stretched out of shape over time, has been left visible. Large skylights have been inserted in the roof that frame views of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and d...

This magnificently produced book provides a priceless record of a unique and increasingly fragile way of life, one threatened by conflict, climate change and tourism. The lower valley of the Omo, at the borders of Ethiopia, Kenya and Sudan, remains one of the wildest places in Africa. Over the course of numerous voyages to this forgotten land, Hans Silvester became fascinated by the beauty of the Surma and Mursi tribes, who share a taste for body painting and extravagant decorations borrowed from nature. In this region of East Africa, the rivers that run through the dry savannahs are home to abundant flowers, papyrus and wild fruit trees, and this luxuriance becomes an invitation to creativity and spectacle. Within hand’s reach, a multitude of plants inspire fanciful and ephemeral self-decoration, and the Omo tribes react spontaneously: a leaf, root, seed pod or flower is quickly transformed into an accessory. People create caps from tufts of grass or they ornament t...